Norths Connect – Bringing Business Associates and Norths Together

Norths Connect – Bringing Business Associates and Norths Together

Get connected on August 9 with beer, food, inspirational guest speakers and prizes at the Endeavour Tap Rooms.

Norths Connect is all about connecting business associates with Norths together and what a better place to talk Rugby than the Endeavour Tap rooms, crafting beer, all the vats and a tour.

The Endeavour Tap Rooms is a collaboration between award winning businesses Endeavour Vintage Beer Co, and Applejack Hospitality, located within the building that once housed Sydney’s longest-running colonial hotel, Seaman’s.

We recently caught up with Ben Kooyman, an ex-Norths player, the current CEO and founder of Endeavour Tap Rooms, discussing his connection with Northern Suburbs Rugby.

“I played for Norths in the late 90’s for Colts and Grade with players like Al Baxter,” Ben said.

“I enjoyed my time at Norths, but eventually work and university got in the way.

“My young boys play junior Rugby in Gordon District comp, and we have always been huge Rugby fans.

“Basically my whole team at work are heavily involved so it is a common thread with grassroots Rugby.

As a small brewery, Ben admitted that their are some major challenges facing the promotion of small brands in a competitive market.

“There is huge competition out in the market and the biggest challenges are the big multi-nationally owned foreign breweries, which control 90% of the beer market and are always active so access to the market is difficult,” Ben said.

“In our for our business to grow, it needs to be a team effort, whilst being active and nimble in the marketplace.

“Every week we are doing a new beer we haven’t done before, however we need to communicate a lot so we go in the same direction, and we need to keep up and launch new beers which are in season… for example brewing more dark beers in winter and more light beers in summer.”

With sociability being key to a team sport such as Rugby, Ben touched on the similarities it has with the Endeavour Tap Rooms team.

“We use Australian ingredients at our brewery, which matches our beer to great food and a great location at the Rocks,” Ben said.

“We also need to be agile and nimble in the online marketplace, selling our beers online which ultimately increases our popularity amongst consumers.”

With the Norths Connect event being held at Endeavour Tap Rooms on the 9th of August, Ben highlighted how important it is to stay active within the Norths community.

“I am looking forward to catching up with ex-players, but also associating our brand with a very successful club,” Ben said.

“I was there in 1999 when we last played our final, which didn’t end well, however it is great to commune and join forces, whilst giving a chance to promote our brand and promote Norths.”